The battle For Telos
by Kondoru
Summary: Cid is in sight of his precious fuel water, but Earl Tyrant wont let him take it without a fight
1. Chapter 1

THE BATTLE FOR TELOS -INTRODUCTION

By Kondoru

Standard Disclaimers

Thanks to Richard for betaing

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Jane continued upon her voyage though the Seas of Chaos.

Tonight everyone was sat in Cid's workroom, the inventor was busy at his workbench, he was handloading ammunition for Kaze's gun. The twins and Miles were helping him. Miles put the cases though the resizing die, Ai weighed out black powder and Yu checked the size of bullets that Cid had cast yesterday.

All the inventor had to do was assemble each unit. Cid had a machine for making bullets for Nav's Gatling which was fed from a drum on the top. The few other guns of the Comadeen used the same ammunition but Kaze's firearm was of a much bigger calibre.

Cid looked over to the man of the Black Wind who was sat between a rack of crossbows (the main missile weapon of the Inner world) and a crate. "I wish you could remember more about this." He waved a bullet at Kaze.

Kaze ignored him, only yesterday he had been in the showers, Yu had blow dried his long hair but it was still too long in close proximity to people. Consequently he was in one of his moods.

Cid looked back at Miles, Lisa and the Twins. "I see he's in extrovert mode again."

Miles said nothing. Kaze had not forgiven her ever since she had made Lou Lupus a rag doll that looked like him.

Lou had left them over a month ago; She had gotten sick of the close confines of Jane, also various brushes with Nav's shipboard discipline for getting into mischief.

Nav was by no means hard on his crew but he didn't let anyone pick fights. Lou had got into several, mostly over rumours regarding her and Kaze. Being put in the brig distressed Lou, she sulked when given extra chores to do as a punishment, and Nav didn't want to have to whip her.

No one else wanted Nav to whip Lou (with the possible exception of the punched party) and made such a fuss that he had been pathetically mild on her.

Never mind that Lou's body was made of steel and leather, and blows didn't hurt her at all.

Lou tried to be good. Mostly.

She wasn't used to close proximity to humans, a kind whom she tended to mistrust. Humans were afraid of Lou once they found out her abilities, and so Lou was wary of forming relationships. But Lisa and the twins got on well with her, and none of the Comadeen were afraid, were indeed glad to have such a fierce ally.

Lou had a crush upon the hapless Demon gunner. 

Kaze, strangely enough, didn't seem to mind. The normally untouchable gunner manfully let the varg girl hug him, even sleep discreetly at his feet like a dog at night.

Lisa had warned Lou against going any further.

"Kaze's very funny at times. I don't know how he would react." She had warned the hormonal teen.

Lisa wasn't sure Lou had taken that advice, and several of the Comadeen spread rumours that Lou and Kaze were using the storeroom for traditional shipboard activities.

This was not mean cruelly, since everyone was the subject of scurrilous chatter.

Lou took it personally though. There were several ugly incidents.

Eventually Lisa and Miles had managed to convince Lou that no harm was meant. "Kaze's not bothered. Why should you be?" Miles had told her.

Lou had snorted in annoyance, she could not really explain.

Nav was secretly glad that his Comadeen were making filthy chatter. It showed they were losing their Apathetic attitude problems. The Apathetics had notoriously low libidos.

Lou was also difficult to feed. She needed meat daily, unlike the rest of Jane's crew who only had it on special occasions. Ai had managed to get tins of corned beef out of Poshepocket sometimes but she knew full well the magic bag creature was notoriously untrustworthy with food.

Lou would eat fish, with reluctance.

They had moored by some rocky islets and gone fowling.

Cid had converted a storeroom into a big freezer that was now hung with seabirds, the odd unwary seal, and a few gorals they had managed to buy.

The cook grumbled a bit at having to prepare special meals for just one of Jane's passengers but was secretly pleased when Lou thanked him profusely.

Kaze who in his own way was also an outcast got on very well aboard ship. He still was very reserved, and the crew, after some attempts to get their new hero to open up, had learned to leave him alone. Kaze spent his nights in the hold and days he sat quietly on the main deck where he could quietly watch what the others were doing. Lou had joined him for a few days until she got bored of his inattention.

She then started to make mischief.

She was disruptive during lessons, and spent a lot of the time in bouncing a rubber ball off of the most reverberating panels on the submarine.

Everyone had breathed a sigh of relief when the too lively Varg girl had jumped ship at their last stop on a wild coastline full of exciting scents.

Lou had been surly the past two days, but now was quivering all over with delight, her sensitive nose sniffing excitedly.

Though in human form she had no tail, she was definitely bottom wiggling.

"I think I'll stay here." She said to no one in particular.

"Aren't you coming with us?" Asked Lisa mildly.

The Varg girl had shaken her grey haired head. "It seems I'm not welcome here."

"Don't say that." Ai was in tears. "We love you very much."

Lou nodded. "I'd rather be free in the woods than cooped up on your ship."

"Don't let Nav upset you," said Yu. "He wants you to be nice after all."

"And Mister Kaze doesn't react to anyone except Makenshi." Ai explained rather snidely with a quick glance at her silent protector, who as usual was sat staring into space.

"What about Kaze? Don't you want to stay with him?" Lisa added.

Lou gave a sad look in the direction of her silent crush. "I do but I'm lonely for the wilds too. At least I know where Mister will be. He looks like he's going to stick with you and the Comadeen...Wherever they will be." She went over and gave her hero a bone crunching hug. "I love you very much Mister Kaze but I'd like to jump ship a while. I'll see you again someday." She gave Kaze a big wet kiss on his tattooed cheek, then stood up and ran into the woods without a backwards glance.

Nav watched her go with a silent sigh of relief. It wasn't he was an enemy of the Wolf girl, but Lou had tried his patience as leader in so many ways. His crew were almost as placid as Apathetics, a group whom most of them had come from. The Twins were scamps but were kept in line by the tireless Lisa. Kaze who could potentially have been troublesome was in actuality the least tiresome of all Janes crew.

But over the next few days all missed Lou's rumbustious presence.

Nav's life was now too quiet.

Even Kaze had been caught looking wistfully at her spot on the deck.

Cid had almost finished his task.

"Playing the Ocean Puzzle eh?" Lisa said as she loaded the new bullets into the magazines Cid had devised to make loading one handed easier.

"If this is a game and we are nearing Telos, then obviously the final level is Telos. Right?" Cid pressed black powder into a cartridge.  
"Like a computer game" said Ai from where she was weighing the powder out.

"You had them in your world?" Asked Cid curiously. The world he came from was very technologically advanced, as was the one of Nav and Miles.

Yu nodded "Ai is the better player."

"That's because I work harder at it." Ai said smugly. She looked over to Lisa. "Did you play computer games?"

Lisa was silent. She did not like to remember the life she had left behind in order to search for him. Mundane in many ways it was also safe and secure.

"How about you, Miles?" She turned to Nav's tomboy second in command.

"I did a bit, ones with marksmanship skills of course."

"Kaze plays shoot em ups too I bet." Yu gave the black clad gunner a sly look. They knew nothing of Kaze's destroyed homeworld but all assumed it was another Soil technology based one.

Kaze was still silent. He was only in the too crowded room because Cid had invited him to see the handloading and check it was up to standard. In actually Kaze trusted Cid unsupervised.

"Game or no game, we will have to be extra careful when we reach Telos," everyone nodded, "Earl tyrant is sure to have laid a trap there."

"Does he know where Telos is?" Asked Lisa.

Nav shook his head, "I have no idea."

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	2. Chapter 2

THE BATTLE FOR TELOS -ARRIVAL AT TELOS

By Kondoru

Standard Disclaimers

Thanks to Richard for betaing

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Ten days later they came to a tree fringed coast.

Cid had detected it on his radar long before the lookout, of course. "But something's funny about the reading. I get ghosting, like off of ice. But it's not like ice. And the water temperatures too high for freezing."

"This is Wonderland, Cid," reminded Nav gently.

They opened the hatches and climbed out onto Jane's hull, looking at the uninteresting trees.

"There's your ice, Cid." Miles pointed down the beach.

"But that's not ice." Cid shook his head. "It's blue stuff."

"Like Clears clothing." Ai said.

The partly disembarked and walked on down to the blue mass on the beach.

Well, it looked a lot like ice, but it wasn't ice.

Yu patted the blue substance. It was warm and slightly squishy, like a thick gel. But if poked too firmly it went rock hard.

It was flying water.

"Ohh!" Yu yelped as the lump rose up, with him sat on top.

"Wark!" Chobi jumped forwards, craning his neck to reach his bond human more out of curiosity than an attempt at rescue. Yu jumped down upon the bird's broad back, sending him sprawling and lumps of the blue stuff scattering.

Cid stood with a piece in one hand, furiously typing on his laptop with his other hand. He shut it down. "Yup, this is flying water!"

Miles gave her broadest grin. "Power to fly! Power to defeat Chaos!" She yelled triumphantly. For none was as eager as Mireth Miles the Gunner to take the battle to Earl Tyrant's own doorstep.

Everyone laughed wholeheartedly; victory was finally within their grasp. They played around with the fascinating substance for a few hours; squidging it, throwing it around, even jumping on big lumps to make it float, then hopping off before it rose too high. Fuel water in many ways resembled the strange cotton wool like Mist that they had encountered in the ruined Mystarian City, but was very different. Lisa used her Kigenjutsu senses to scan it. This was not Mist at all, but more like a water version of Soil, and so compatible with Cid's technology.

Kuroki Kaze did not join this indignified horseplay, but watched, sat under a tree in his habitual pose. The others had forgotten all about his sullen presence.

Ai noticed him. "Come on Kaze!" She shouted, "why don't you ever join in the fun?"

Yu patted her arm, "don't make a pest of yourself Ai," he told his sister. "Kaze's having his fun watching us, don't you understand?"

Ai pouted at her brother and picking up a piece of fuel water, threw it at the inoffending gunner, Kaze ducked and the lump hit the tree he was propping up, spattering him with blue fragments; he shook it out of his matted hair, snorting at the intrusion.

Cid tossed down a lump of fuel water he had been intending throwing at Nav. "It's getting on. We should be lugging this stuff into the hold. But I have something that should make that a lot easier."

After a hasty meal Cid led the crew down to the storage space, the room next to the one Kaze had appropriated for his lair. "Let's get cracking."

All set to unloading the crates from the submarine.

Inside were rapidly assembled yellow tracked vehicles.

Cid stood back proudly. "Here is Lamonts One though to Ten..."

"A girl's name" said Ai with weary contempt.

Yu fell asleep though Cid's lecture on his new gadgets.

"Kwei!" Rang out Chobi's warning cry, he craned his head around nearly a full circle.

Ai followed "something wrong!"

Fango jumped off one of the Lamonts. "Bad stuff!"

Lisa's head whipped around. "Chaos!"

Kaze leapt to his feet in one fluid movement, he unholstered his shotgun.

And monsters shimmered into existence.

There was a whole host of them, most were strange creatures that bore a great resemblance to a walrus, but their sharp tusks were forwards jutting and their flippers more like a sea lions. No doubt these creatures were very agile upon land.

Others were even bigger things more like lobsters.

The largest of all was a giant sea anemone.

The first leapt on a Comadeen, and before he could scream, bit him clean in two.

"Pist's creatures," gasped Lisa, familiar with the psychic signature of this Death Lords creations.

"So many of them," said Cid, he pushed down his headset.

"To your stations, Comadeen," ordered Miles.

"See off the small ones, I'll deal with the clawed." Nav got out his Gatling.

And the fight began.

This battle was the most serious they had ever fought.

Ai fought like a pigtailed demon, she had grabbed up a crowbar cid had brought for fuel water harvesting, and stuck right and left.

Chobi jumped and kicked and pecked with his great beak.

The rattatat of Nav's Gatling was overlain by the deeper crack crack of Kaze's sawnoff.

Miles had shot several poisoned darts into the monsters with her multibarreled blowgun; it was slowing them down but didn't have any real result. She sighed and grabbing up her spear, jabbed it deep into a tusker.

Of all Jane's crew only Yu did not fight, he huddled in amongst a pile of fuel water blocks. Yu was terrified both at the violence and his own helplessness. What was he to do?

Kaze was peppering the massed tuskers with scientifically placed shots all the while powering up the Magun, a tusker jumped at him, Lisa gasped, she knew Kaze was almost helpless in close combat, even more so while integrating his Magun.

But before she could react Kaze brought his Magun arm round, the blades which Lisa had always thought insubstantial sliced though the creature in a great spray of minced flesh and gore.

Kaze dropped his shotgun upon its wrist strap and wiped red muck off his face.

The Magun clunked together. "The Magun has thawed." Kaze gave the command that activated its targeting computer,.

Lisa stepped in front of him; Kaze would need her to cover him while he went though the loading ritual. Something he could not skimp upon. Each and every soil charge had to be mentally primed before chambering.

The sea anemone was grabbing lamonts and the odd hapless Comadeen, smashing them down upon the fuel water.

"Be very careful Kaze!" She yelled above the thrum of the soil turbine. "Nothing fire or energy based! I sense great latent power in the fuel water, if you get it wrong, the whole place will go up!"

Kaze nodded. "The soil charge to use against you has been decided!" He stabbed a judgemental finger at the sea anemone.

Kaze gave a few mental commands to the Magun's computer. The targeter which was wired into his cyberneticaly altered brain went blank and brought up a wholly different Soil triad than it had initially done. Normally the Magun decided its own ammunition based on what it saw though Kaze's left eye and his perception of the danger. But this was only a suggestion.

"...An infinity to surpass the heavens; Sky Blue!"

Kaze primed the first magic bullet. The soil charges contained the soul, backed up by a mixture of Soil sand and high explosive to vaporise it into pure spirit.

"...That which burrows though solid ground; Earth Brown!"

He reached into his belt, pulling out the second charge. Kaze could feel where each charge was located in the forty-two slotted belt. He did not need to look.

"...And finally, a deception to twist a dimension; Magic Violet!"

The last bullet was telekinetically flipped into the third chamber of the Magun and the breech closed.

Kaze quickly checked the reading on his targeter. All three soil charges were primed and ready to be fired. He revved up the soil turbine, which powered the Magun; his heart beating faster to keep up the blood flow which cooled the weapon and kept its Ki circulating. This was critical, if the Soil overheated the Magun would misfire, unchambering the soil charges and deactivating again.

Kaze did not like to think what could happen if it misfired after the Soil charges had been turned to spiritual energy.

Gathering his Ki, Kaze braced his feet against the recoil and squeezed the trigger.

"...I summon thee... TYPHON!"

Lisa gave a big sigh of relief as she tossed another tusker with her Kigenjutsu; Typhon would remove the big monster without disturbing the fuel water.

The energised soil charges spiralled out and coalesced into a purple creature, Typhon resembled nothing more than a strange alien insect larvae, and most people who saw him, their first reaction was to go huh? The sea anemone did not have the sense for this, merely batting at the inoffending demon.

Typhon powered up, grabbing a big lump of space in a blaze of light, the sea anemone with it. The light turned to blackness, as Typhon returned to his own dimension, crushing the enemy as he dragged it along with him.

Kaze stood in a cloud of exhaust gases and vaporised soil...not to mention blood. The Magun powered down automatically as it did after every firing. Kaze calmly reloaded his holstered shotgun with fresh magazines, he could not use the Magun on the scattered monsters; it would be too risky for the Comadeen who were bravely fighting them off with blowguns and assorted hand weaponry. A tusker bounded towards him and he blew its grotesque head off with a carefully placed explosive bullet.

In spite of everyone's heroics, the Comadeen were losing. Several were dead. Cid lay unconscious, trapped under a fallen lobster. Fango was trying to lever the brute off of his companion. Miles was standing over Nav, who was frantically trying to reload his Gatling. Lisa stood leaning against a crushed Lamont, getting her breath back.

No one saw the approach of a slim white clad form.

Not even Kaze.

Shiroi Kumo sliced though two lobsters as if they were his supper. He almost flippantly speared a tusker and beheaded another.

Kaze had killed three sea monsters but had been injured in the process; he had taken a tusk to the chest and lower legs. Kaze struggled to get up, but could not, he sank down, blood slicking the fuel water The Demon Gunner nearly fainted.

Then he sensed Makenshi, Kaze looked up, he grabbed his discarded Winchester, -empty.

Pulling himself up on his free arm he hauled the Magun into view, the demon gun remained inert, Kaze groaned, "move!" He ordered.

It integrated with painful slowness, blood dripping from the tourniquet to join the puddle on the ground.

"The Magun has...thawed."

Shiroi Kumo walked slowly up to him, sword on belt.

Kaze pointed the Magun with a shaking hand "the soil charge to use against you has been decided."

It was no use.

The warning signs his targeter brought up were all red.

Nor did the Magun suggest a soil triad to use, as it should have done.

Kaze fumbled in his belt. Nothing. The soil charges were all inert. He could not activate them.

Kaze groaned. He was done for. The gunner sank his head back down to the fuel water, waiting for the blow of the Maken that would end him. Death would be a merciful sleep.

Makenshi contemplated his archenemy for a long moment; he pulled back his mask.

He then spat full in Kaze's face.

Kaze groaned. "Do not torment me, Makenshi, I cannot fight."

Shiroi Kumo smiled, "sleep Kuroki Kaze...You deserve it."

He brought down the Maken.

Yu gasped.

Kumo looked at him, "come here!" He ordered.

Yu gaped.

"I knocked him out...He's still alive."

Yu took a step forwards, he was resolute. "And you won't take him alive. Chobi!" He did not like to think what The Black winds bitter enemy would do with him.

The yellow bird ran to his master's side.

Kumo looked at them both, still calm in spite of the threatening chocobo "Best move, Earl Tyrant has dumped an Omega crystal on this plane...It will take a while to activate but once it does..." He made an explosive gesture.

Yu gasped. "So it's all a diversion to keep us in place?"

The steel masked Mystarian nodded. "Help me get Kuroki Kaze to your ship."

So Yu had bound Kaze's unreacting hand and his Magun arm to Chobi's collar with his belt. "Go to Jane!" He had ordered the worried bird.

Chobi would not leave his bond humans side.

"Go to Jane!" Yu had shouted in sudden anger. "I have to help Ai and Lisa."

Chobi turned and walked away, Kaze's long legs flopping behind him.

Yu sighed, tears running down his cheeks. He had little hope of seeing his bird ever again.

He looked up, resolute Ai or Lisa?

Yu decided upon Ai...He knew full well he stood little chance of carrying Lisa who lay exhausted by her Kigenjutsu struggles.

He stepped over to his twin "it's all right Sis, I'm here."

"Yu?"

"Its me, Ai, don't be afraid."

"Yu..." cried Ai weakly, she was cut and bruised in a dozen places, two dead monsters testifying to her bravery.

Yu managed to haul his sister on his shoulders shaking hands slick with Kaze's blood.

"Wait."

"Sis, we have to hurry, we have only a few minutes."

"Let me grab a black of this stuff then." Ai grabbed as big a handful of fuel water as she could manage, with it she was lighter, Yu was grateful, Ai was a big burden. 

He staggered back to the submarine and inside the airlock.

Cid was lying on the floor just inside, two Comadeen beside him.

"Cid!"

"Yu...and Ai!" Cid groaned, "I have broken legs, one of those tuskers fell on me...ooowww!"

"Where are the others?" Asked Yu.

Cid gestured further in. "Nav carried in Miles, I don't know how he did it."

"And Lisa?" Yu was worried. He owed Lisa so much. But Ai was his sister.

"I have Lisa." Came a voice behind him.

Yu turned, there in the doorway was Makenshi cradling her in his delicate arms.

"Thank you!"

"No matter."

Cid was in too bad a state to climb to his controls "slight design fault there I think," he muttered to no one in particular.

Kumo put down Lisa, "We have to move."

Nav looked at him, groaning "not everyone's accounted for."

"If we stay here any longer we will all die, -close the hatches!" Kumo told them sadly.

"Kaze and Chobi!" Cried Yu in alarm.

"We have no choice" Kumo raced up to the cockpit "how does this thing work?" He called down to Cid.

"I've been gathering data on the Planes. My computers got the co ords for them."

"Sod it!" Kumo jumped down, gathered the inventor in his arms and levitated back up to the cockpit. "Do it!"

Cid rapidly plugged his laptop into the socket for the main computer. He looked about himself in horrified confusion, then groaned. "The ocean puzzles breaking up round Omega."

Lisa stood up. "Let me out Cid." She said in a weary voice.

"What?"

"I'll summon my Kigen Dragon."

Kumo and Cid looked down at her.

"Hurry, we have very little time." She turned to go. "Cid, Nav, Miles...look after the Twins for me. Help them find their parents, look after Kaze for me too."

Lisa opened the hatch.

"Lisa!" Called Nav in distress but she ignored him.

Outside all was deadly quiet. The last of the monsters had vanished leaving only the dead, there was a strange pinky purple glow in the air.

Omega.

Its energy levels were rising by the second and were getting unbearable. Lisa shut off that part of her mind. She estimated she had less than half a minute to act.

Lisa focussed her Ki "turn my life into spiritual energy."

The great silver snake materialised, wrapped its shimmering coils round the Comadeen submarine and vanished to another plane.

A few seconds later, probably speeded up by Lisa massive expenditure of energy, Omega blew, obliterating the ocean puzzle entirely. 


	3. Chapter 3

THE FIGHT FOR TELOS, Part Three A Conversation with Kumo,

By Kondoru.

Standard Disclaimers

Thanks to JP for Betaing.

Lisa Pacifist opened her eyes.

She looked around. This was the main deck of Jane. Had it all been a dream?

But the Kigenjutsu master was exhausted. She was lying on a rug, covered with a rough blanket.

Lisa appeared to be naked under the cover. Her body ached as if hammered flat, and her head swam.

Someone leaned over her. Familiar.

It was Fango.

"You're awake." He crouched down by her. Fango had discarded his robe and now was dressed in a grey Comadeen T shirt and grubby y fronts.

"Oh Fango..." Lisa shut her eyes. Somehow in spite of summoning the Mana beast she was still alive. Alive and safe back upon Jane. "Where is everyone??" She asked.

Fango suddenly screwed up his eyes and leant his face against Lisa's shoulders "No!" He whimpered. "Some dead..."

Lisa tried to look around. There was no one on the deck except her and Fango. The ship was underwater so she assumed Cid was at the controls. Lisa craned her head around. No one was at the radar screens. This was worrying.

"Ai...Yu?"

"Here." Fango snivelled.

Lisa suddenly missed her silent saviour. "Kaze..."

Fango whimpered. "Dead...and Chobi...and others..."

Lisa shut her eyes. "...Kaze..."

Somehow she had loved the man of the black wind ever since she had met him in the City of Roots. But Kaze was so unapproachable, and so exasperating.

Lisa wished she had been kinder to the Demon gunner.

"Where is everyone else?"

Fango shook his head. "Mostly in the infirmary. We left you out here because you were a non urgent case. I've been checking on you every so often...And Cid."

"Cid?"

"Lisa!" The inventor called down from his cockpit. "How glad I am to hear your voice again!"

"Cid! You're safe!"

"I'm fine. But I'm stuck in my seat. Two broken legs."

"I can't get up." Groaned Lisa.

"Go back to sleep. I'll fetch you some food." Fango reassured his charge.

And Lisa did, sleeping soundly for safety.

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Fango brought a bowl of what looked like soaked mushed ships biscuits and his robe. He helped Lisa sit up, pulled the robe over her head.

"I'm sorry about the mess; I've had a lot to do." He pulled a bundle of Comadeen shermargs from under her.

"Oh, that's ok. Shows I'm alive." Said Lisa.

"I'm sorry about undressing you too. I had to get your cuts cleaned."

"You did a good job." Said Lisa. "Thank you."

"Thank you, Lisa," said Fango; "those lobster things were mauling us bad."

Yu came in. He hugged his protector, "Lisa!"

"Yu!"

"I'm safe. So is Ai." Yu smiled "didn't my sister fight!"

"I bet she did." Lisa had to laugh. She went serious. "How long have I been out?"

"Two days" said Fango.

"Yes." Added Yu.

Lisa sighed, "must have come close to using up all my Ki. Still, I'm alive at least."

A tall white figure walked in.

Lisa frowned. "Makenshi..."

Yu gripped her hand. "It was him who carried you in..." He explained. "I had a handful with Ai."

Kumo came and stood silently by the rug, eyes unreadable above his mask.

Lisa shook her head. "You rescued me...instead of Kaze."

Kumo shook his head. "You have it wrong, Miss. Yu put Kaze on his bird."

Lisa looked at Yu. His face was drawn at the mention of his chocobo.

Kumo put his hand upon Yu's, "I'm sure your bird is alive. I know Kaze's alive, I'd feel it if he were dead, so your bird must be too."

Yu nodded silently.

Kumo turned back to Lisa. 

"And don't call me miss if we are to be friends. I'm Lisa Pacifist." She held out her hand.

Kumo took it. "People call me Makenshi but I don't like that name." He hung his head, "much as I wholeheartedly deserve it."

"You helped us...Why?"

"So I did." He sighed. "I'm Shiroi Kumo."

"White cloud." Lisa shook her head. "Kaze's been looking for you."

"I bet."

"The twins and me found him in the City of Roots." She reminisced. "We thought he was dead, no living man would have been sat in one place long enough for roots to grow over him like that. But he woke up."

"Kaze was asleep..." The white swordsman nodded as if this confirmed what he already knew.

"He woke up and one of the first things he asked was is that scoundrel here too?"

Kumo smiled. "Always Kaze."

Lisa shook her head. "Gun dragon and Sword dragon."

Kumo was surprised. "How do you know about those two" his green eyes were full of suspicion "you're not meant to be able to sense them." Kumo paused "even with your own not insubstantial powers."

Lisa shook her head "I saw them, twelve years ago, fight to the death."

Kumo's eyes went wide, and then he nodded. "I know."

"I saw it. It haunts my nightmares." Lisa was silent, then she said "so you and Kaze are both dragons?" Lisa frowned. "But if you were, I would have sensed it."

"No we are not dragons." Kumo shook his white haired head.

"Who are those two then?"

Kumo paused for a moment, he finally said. "They are our patrons."

"Patrons?"

"Yes, their names are Hougekiju, and Ittouju"

"Very powerful?"

"Immensely so. We are Unlimited."

"I have heard that term before. Godlike power."

The swordsman nodded. "After a fashion. We get most of it from our patrons. They are immensely powerful, and enemies of Chaos, but they live very far away and without my and Kaze's help, cannot get to this Plane to fight."

"Ah? Summons, like Kaze's beasts and your dragons?" Asked Lisa shrewdly.

"Sort of, but more...much more." Kumo put his hand to his head in sudden pain. "It's a big sacrifice to summon them..." He sighed. "We have to sacrifice our very bodies and souls."

Lisa was still wary of the dreaded Demon Swordsman but she was fey. Here was one who could answer all the questions Kaze's was unwilling or simply unable to. Lisa decided to ask them. She drew the blanket further around her. "I'd like to hear your side of the story. Kaze has never told me his...It's another thing he cannot remember."

Kumo settled down cross-legged. "I'll tell you. It's not a thing I want to talk about, but seeing as you know gun dragon and sword dragon..."

"Please..." Lisa prompted; fearing Kumo would change his mind.

"My world had been destroyed and consumed by Chaos. I was the only survivor, so I travelled to Wyndaria to join up with my friends of old. Kuroki Kaze and Okami Aura."

Lisa frowned; "I've heard Kaze say the word Aura." This was at Lou Lupus but she did not say that to Kumo. She did not trust the man entirely yet, and Lou was still very much a wild card.

"Probably you had. Kaze was very fond of her."

"Kaze had a girlfriend?"

Kumo gave a big snigger. "Girlfriend, Kaze? He spent his teenage years in fearful ascetics in order to gain the Magun. Aura was his sister."

"Oh. Silly me." Lisa flushed at her misassumption.

"No. Aura was Kaze's little sister, about my age." Kumo was lost in thought.

"You were?..." Lisa prompted.

Kumo smiled. "I too have spent a lot of my life in ascetic practises. We meditated together, shared the same waterfall for cold water austerities."

Lisa smiled back. "So now I know how to date Kaze. Rip his and my clothes off and stand with him under a waterfall somewhere?"

Kumo had to laugh. "Yes! You want to try it?"

Lisa grinned, shaking her head. "I could introduce him to some new practices. Baths in frozen lakes. I too spent a lot of my youth in ascetics."

Kumo laughed some more. "What a bunch of deficient teens we all are. Ascetics indeedy." He smiled. "Kaze and his sisters were pupils of a famous Master of Soil; them and two moogles."

"Moogles?"

"You've never met a moogle?" Kumo was surprised. "You've missed lots; they are great for a laugh. Strong in Soil too..."

"So what did happen on that night?" Lisa prompted. "You did succeed in summoning your patrons."

"That we did." Kumo sighed at the memory. "And Kaze grabbed up Chaos and consumed him utterly."

"Kaze what?"

"Yes, I thought that too, but then I was in doubt of even our combined strengths to beat Chaos. I had not yet summoned Ittouju and Kaze bought me time." Kumo was silent. "Even though it put his soul at great risk."

Lisa nodded sadly. "I've seen Kaze's soul..."

"I hope he doesn't know that."

"No?"

"Kaze's soul as you know is of great power and purity. He's been very private with it all his life."

"Ah."

"No, back to that night"

Lisa nodded; she was learning more than she cared to know.

"Kaze as Hougekiju consumed Chaos; it didn't do him much good."

Lisa shuddered.

"Hougekiju's normal colouration is of silver... He went red black. I was going oh shit oh shit and trying to summon Ittouju as fast as I could. "

Lisa rubbed the blanket. She said nothing; this was evidently causing her saviour a lot of pain.

"Hougekiju vanished. Chaos sent him crazy. He went crashing though planar boundaries.  
And I was free to summon Ittouju. What a relief, to be in an immense dragon form, power cracking though your very form..."

Lisa nodded. She knew what it was like to summon her Kigen Dragon.

"I could now follow Kaze's psychic scent. I had to charge after him, try to stop him and Chaos."

"And you burst though to my world."

"When I found him he was busy shooting that over calibred firearm of his at some ships."

"The UN Task force." Said Lisa slowly. "He wiped out half the UN task force."

Kumo's eyes went wide. "Ordinary machines? No magic?"

Lisa shook her head. "No magic."

"And they dared to attack Hougekiju??" Kumo couldn't believe it.

Lisa shook her head again. "We don't use magic much in my world. And we certainly aren't used to dragons appearing. Military investigation is standard first response in such situations...should they ever arise."

"Do they arise often?"

Lisa had to grin in spite of herself. "Not often."

"So. Are you going to arrest Kaze and take him back to your world for trial?"

Lisa gave her nasty false laugh. "What an idea. I don't think he would come very quietly, and I think it might be hard proving anything against him. Kaze's nothing like Gun dragon after all."

"No, he isn't." Kumo shook his head. "I've called Kaze a gun-toting nut in the past, but I'm sure he never intended causing such destruction. It was Hougekiju under the influence of Chaos who did it." Kumo sat back. "Now there is a gun toting nut..."

"Oh?"

"It was his idea that Kaze be given the Magun."

"That thing he bears upon his nose?" Lisa shuddered.

Kumo nodded as he shuddered himself. "The Magun is an immensely powerful magical weapon. Its not designed for mortals to use. But Hougekiju promised it to Kaze, who was very happy."

Lisa knew what was coming next. "Until he found out just what the Magun involved."

"You're right. Kaze had to spend some time in one of Hougekiju's worlds having it fitted to him."

"Hell?"

"Something quite like it. I knew Kaze before he had the Magun; he was a little strange at times but not abnormal."

"He changed to the severe introvert we know?"

Kumo nodded. "Kaze was always quiet, but he was a good friend with Aura, the moogles, me and my big brother Kiri." Kumo winced. "When I met him after Mystaria was destroyed he had indeed become very withdrawn. Not surprising. He now bore the Magun upon his arm and the tattoos of Demon warding on his face. Everybody but Aura feared him."

Lisa looked sad. "To give a normal life up for that."

Kumo laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "He had to, it was his one chance to fight Chaos, win where we of Mystaria failed."

"He's so powerful."

"Summoning can take a long time, hours if not all day. Now Kaze can summon a demon in minutes, and provided he rests the Magun in between summons, he can do that as many times as he has Soil charges for."

Lisa was silent, remembering the dreadful destruction of Funguses world.

"We are digressing a lot."

"I'm hungry." Lisa said as her stomach rumbled.

"I'll fetch you something to eat." Fango offered, as he came to check upon Cid.

"Me too." Kumo offered. "I've not had so much talk in a long, long time. There was noting to say in Gaudrim."

Fango brought them food, Mush, this time with added dried fruit. Kumo attacked his hungrily, Lisa ate more slowly, her stomach was still not up to solids.

Eventually Kumo was ready to continue. "Ittouju and Hougekiju are great rivals, I found I could not guide him. But that doesn't matter, for he was doing just as I intended. Kaze noticed me then, and he was angry." Kumo made a wry face. "I yelled at him to stop, did he?"

Lisa shook her head. "Kaze's very wilful."

"You have Hougekiju to thank for that...and Aura. Both always got their own way. So I went for him, Whammo!"

"But you didn't destroy Chaos then?"

"Yes he did...that aspect. But Chaos has many aspects." Kumo shook his tousled head.

"That was twelve years ago. But I remember it like it was yesterday."

"And me..." Lisa was silent for a moment. "Kaze hates you, you know."

Kumo rubbed his eyes. "Chaos has damaged his mind and spirit."

Lisa looked very sad. "He's amnesiac, you know. When we first met Kaze, he didn't remember anything not even his name."

"But you know his name is Kaze." Kumo asked.

"It was Yu. He started calling him Kaze." Lisa smiled. "It was only later I found out why."

"Ah?"

"The writing on the Magun says Kaze's Demon Gun."

"Yes, of course. I forgot, But then I was never much good at reading the Wyndarian script. I take it is familiar to you?"

Lisa nodded. "It's funny how similar languages and writing is found in many widely separated worlds."

"Not a subject I know much about. Planar travel is so hard." Kumo looked sadly out of the window at the dark sea. "But too easy in the Inner World." He looked back at the Kigenjutsu master. "It means Chaos is stronger."

Lisa said nothing to that. She, too, looked out at the sea. "Kaze's always fighting Chaos."

Kumo looked angry. "I knew Kaze was somewhere in the Inner world, I looked for him several times." Kumo narrowed his green eyes. "But I couldn't find him."

Lisa frowned. "But Kaze's so powerful. How does he hide?"

Kumo plucked at his cloak. "You know that silly rag he's so attached to?"

"It's a plain plaid cloak, isn't it?"

"Not quite. Kaze's people, the Wyndarians, wear cloaks, often in earthy colours, sometimes striped or checked. Kaze's cloak isn't a Wyndarian garment though; it's a Mystarian signature cloak."

"Like yours?"

"Yes. We all have them." Kumo screwed up his face and for a minute Lisa thought the tall youth was going to cry. "Silly me. I'm the only one left."

Lisa, remembering the fight in Cloud City, remained silent "so Kaze is an honorary Mystarian?"

"Yes. He was one of the few to travel to my world." The white swordsman poked at his own cloak again.. "Kaze took a great liberty at his majority ceremony. It's the one time in a Wyndarians life in which they wear a cloak like ours. A signature cloak. But Kaze wore that black thing and told everyone he was now Kuroki Kaze. Kaze's cloak is more than a practical garment though, its magic. It's a cloak of soul concealment."

"Oh." This explained an awful lot about her dark hero.

"It hides his Magun, "

"Kaze's always so careful to keep the Magun under wraps."

"So he should be. Even inactive Chaos can sense it. But it also hides his Soil charges."

Lisa had a sudden revelation. "Then the Soil charges are crystallised souls?" She shuddered. "Of people?"

Kumo nodded. "How do you think demons are summoned?"

"I wondered. And I sensed souls in the Desert of Lost Souls. Which was full of Soil." She nodded.  
"I sensed nothing on Kaze."

"Shows that the cloak is doing its job." Kumo smiled.

"Is he safe on Jane?" Asked Lisa. "But I have never seen him without his cloak."

"Underwater. To a certain extent." Kumo looked around. He sighed. "Have you seen Crux?"

"Crux? No, not heard of that."

"Cruz is a pink fairy puppet, about this high." Kumo gestured about three feet above the ground.

"No. I'm sure I would remember if I had." Lisa paused. "This Crux, is he or she a friend of yours?"

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